Father Figure
by Krynns-kender
Summary: April left alone in the lair decides to snoop around a little bit. But what happens when she comes across a secret that no one was ever meant to find out? One-shot.


A/N \- The idea for this story spawned from a late night conversation with a friend. He said someone should write this, so I took it upon myself to do exactly like. Hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer - I do not own any of the characters in this story.

Father Figure

April walked around the main room in the turtles' lair. Glancing in each of the smaller rooms, while she waited for someone to come back home. She looked down at her watch again and sighed. Her most recent assignment had her nearby but her source had been unavailable. So with little else to do she decided to check in on the turtles a little earlier than scheduled, and of course no one was in sight.

Passing by the kitchen area, April decided that was the best place to steer clear of. The street vendor hot dog would have to hold her over until she reached back home where normal food waited for her. She thought of the guys as family but their taste in food was something that she would never be able to overlook.

The first room she peaked into looked like a small cyclone had went through it. Comic books lay scattered across what appeared to be a bed. The blanket was half laying on the floor half rolled into a mound. One pillow lay sideways across the middle and the other was across the room on the floor. A small three drawer dresser appeared to have vomited it contents onto the floor as well. A hawaiian shirt even hung out of one of the open drawers. April had to do a double take as she did not want to believe that a half eaten pizza was sticking out from under the bed. She shook her head. "Eww, Mikey, just eww."

Not even wanting to look at the rest of the room, April went on to the next room. This room was not nearly as messy as the first. The bed was still unmade but at least all the objects were actually on the bed. The floor was also pretty clean, but the desk and bookcase were another matter. The top of the desk was covered in scrap pieces of paper with numeric scribbles, various tools, and half finished gadgets. The bookcase had books standing normal as well as laying sideways plus a few more gadgets that may or may not be completed placed into open spots. At least with Donatello, it seemed to be an organized mess.

The next room was pretty bare. One side had a weight stand and a punching bag. On the other side was nightstand with a few books and a bed that appeared to be made. But when April looked at it more closely the top blanket still had the small impressions from where someone slept on top of it. She wondered if Raphael even got a decent night sleep on a regular basis, but doubted it.

The final open room was immaculate. Bed was neatly made with a single book on the nightstand next to it. Another bookcase stood on the other side with the books neatly arranged by author. A small meditation mat lay on the floor next to bed, while a desk was in the corner with only a single pad of paper and a pen on top. Even without the process of elimination, April knew this room belonged to Leonardo.

April sighed as she went back to the main room and glanced back at her watch. There was still about twenty minutes before she was supposed to meet the guys here. Judging from past experiences it would depend on what they were currently doing on whether they were on time or not. If Leo planned the outing then yes they would be on time. If Leo and Raph had started fighting chances are they would not be. If anyone else had any other reason for going out, they would be late. Looking around the room one more time to try to find something to occupy her time with, she noticed a closed door opposite of all the other open rooms.

Shrugging in curiosity, April walked over to the door and knocked once. Maybe the guys were just off training. She listened at the door for a moment but did not hear any kind of response from the other side. Deciding to try her luck, she opened the door and peeked in. The room had a small mattress on the floor in the corner, a comfortable looking rocking chair in another corner. A small table was next to the chair with a single book on top. Was this Master Splinter's room? April thought to herself. She was just about to leave when she noticed another door inside the room. None of the other rooms contained another door. She highly doubted it lead to a master bathroom, but it just seemed so out of place that she had to check on it.

April looked behind her before entering Splinter's room and placing her hand on the other door. With a twist of the knob the door opened. Another glance back and a quick peek at her watch were all she did before entering the room. This room was much smaller than the others, almost like a walk in closet. Except that April did not find clothes or shoes, there was a metal rack along the back wall with about ten metal cages on it. There was also a small chest in the corner with another mattress on the floor next to it. The cages caught her attention as she moved in for a closer inspection. A few cages were empty but the rest contained normal looking brown rats. "What in the world is going on here?" April stared in confusion. Even her investigative skills were drawing a blank.

"I had hoped that no one would ever come in here and find this." The sound of another voice behind her caused April to turn around. In the doorway stood Master Splinter.

A look of guilt crossed April's face. "Uh, Splinter, I can explain... You see..." But her explanation was cut off

"The reason does not matter, what is done is done." Splinter sighed as he walked over towards the chest. "Perhaps it is for the best that you discovered this. It may make things easier in the end."

April still wore her look of confusion. "Make things easier? What is going on here?" Her hand gestured towards the cages. "Why are you raising rats? Is this some weird familial thing?"

With a sigh, Splinter opened up the chest and pulled out a very worn notebook. He handed it to April while still handling it very carefully. "This should be a start to explaining everything."

Using the same care that Splinter had, April took the notebook from him and opened it up to the first page. Skimming though it, the first section seemed to be about how Splinter first came across the ooze and the turtles. He seemed to have documented every year in their lives, describing first words, first bipedal steps, and other milestones in their lives. April looked up about halfway through the book. "It's a baby book for the turtles. That is so cute. You wrote down everything."

"I am afraid that it is much more than just a baby book Miss O'Neil." Splinter had already taken another notebook out of the chest, but continued to hold that one. "That book that you hold is a detailed account of the turtles' lives. Each of my sons has his own section as well as an overall history of us all."

A small nod from April showed that she sort of understood. "Well that's usually what those types of books are. Parents use them all the time to remember past events or embarrass their children with when they get older."

Splinter shook his head. "This is a teaching guide. So that someone may learn the thorough history of the family." He glances back at the cages.

April followed his gaze to the cages. "That still doesn't explain why you have rats hidden in your room." Splinter held out the other notebook as an exchange for the one April currently held. Again she took the notebook carefully and flipped to the first page. These notes all outlined the proper care and feeding for the rats. "Ok... so this just says how to take care of them."

There was a nod from Splinter as a reply. Shrugging her shoulders she continued reading. She skimmed past the feeding and cleaning part at the beginning. The next part outlined picking out positive behavioral traits. Apparently Splinter preferred dealing with calm, nurturing, and intelligent animals. Moving on to the next section caused April to look up. "Uh... breeding?"

Another nod from Splinter. "The required traits are a must and usually seem to be passed on down through the generations."

"So you're not just keeping rats as pets, you're raising them.? This all seems really odd." April was about to close the notebook when Splinter gestured for her to continue. She sighed as she went on to the next section dealing with testing intelligence and the ability to learn. "Ok, so you play games with them. This still does not answer any of my questions."

Splinter sighed. "The next section should shed some light on all your questions."

Flipping another page, April moved on to the next section. She paused at the title, "Picking the One". Somehow she doubted that Splinter meant it as date finding advise. This section started with an outline of all the desired traits in the one as well as required intelligence tests needing completion. Still basic information as she moved on. Then April was forced to pause as she looked up at Splinter, her eyes wide with shock. "Ooze? You're mutating these rats?" April was unsure if this information should alarm or anger her more.

"It is not for any reason that you may think. Come, sit down." Splinter pointed to the mattress in the small room as he moved closer. "I will explain before wrong conclusions are jumped to."

April obliged as she sat down on the mattress. Her thoughts just reeling with any and all possibilities, each much worse then the last.

Sitting next to her, Splinted glanced over at her. "Yes, I am raising and training rats. But only one gets picked to be exposed to the ooze."

"That still does not make it okay." April still confused at to the why behind all this.

Splinter took a deep breath and looked over at April. "When the ooze mutated the boys, they kept aging like normal turtles would. It is hard to say for sure since they still act young. The ooze just seemed to give me a peak rat life expectancy..." He sort of trailed off at the end allowing April time to think.

It looked almost like a light bulb turned on in April's head. "Are you training your replacement?" Questions rolled through her mind. "How long do mutant rats live? Do the guys..." April paused, of course the guys did not know. She could only imagine their reactions.

Releasing a sigh, Splinter started to explain while April was paused. "I was much younger when we originally came in contact with the ooze. But soon I realized that I was aging much faster than the turtles. I could not just leave them alone, surely they would not have survived at all. Turtles can live longer than most humans. Though rats sadly live for only a few years. So I started finding other rats that held a personality similar to my own, in the hopes that they would continue to look after the boys when I was gone. Once I found one I was happy with, I exposed him to the ooze. Then I spent the rest of my time teaching him about my life and training him. Essentially giving him the tools to become me."

April just blinked a few times, in all her years of chasing stories and scoops, she had never been surprised like she had just been. "So how long has this been going on? You're not the original, are you?"

With a shake of his head, Splinter looked back at the cages. "Sadly no, I am probably the eighth Master Splinter the boys have known. It does take time to raise and train them. As well as the age needs to appear the same. So we do not take up this position until we are older. That is why they have not seemed to notice. Each replacement as taken on the mantle of Master Splinter and we all are to speak and act exactly like the original."

"So why are you explaining all of this to me?" April really did not want to help further this lie, and there was no way she was going to mutate some poor rat.

Splinter sighed. "In a few more years, the turtles will be old enough to be considered adults. They will make their own decisions. When that time comes, they will no longer need a father, but they will need a friend to look out for them. I am hoping that when the role of Master Splinter finally retires, that you will be there for them." He motions for April to follow him out of the small room, closing the door behind them.

For once, April was at a loss for words. "Um... yea. I can do that.

A loud bang of a door being swung open, interrupted them. Voices soon filled the main room. "Dudes, I am starving. Who's up for some lunch?"

Splinter turned to look up at April. "Please do not tell them about anything I have told you. They are not ready to understand."

April nodded as she left Splinter's room. "Mikey, I think there was some leftover pizza in your room."

Doing a small hop for joy, Michelangelo ran to his room. A few items could be seen flying by the opening before a loud explanation followed. "Yes, found it! Hah, and no mold, we're in luck dudes."

April glanced back at Splinter's room before settling herself on the couch as a flurry of motion for food went on behind her. No, they would still need a father figure for a while, despite what Splinter may think.


End file.
